West Coast Main Line deal scrapped

Darrell Matthews

The decision to award the UK's multi-billion-pound West Coast Main Line rail franchise to FirstGroup has been scrapped by the government.

The transport secretary said there were "significant technical flaws" in the bidding process because of mistakes by Department for Transport staff. Three civil servants have been suspended.

The estimated cost of reimbursing four companies for the cost of their bids will be £40m, Patrick McLoughlin said.

FirstGroup said it was "disappointed".

The company had beaten current operator Virgin Trains to win the 13-year franchise.

Responding to the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to cancel the competition to run the West Coast Main Line rail franchise, following the discovery of ‘significant technical flaws’ in the contract process, Darrell Matthews, Regional Director for the IoD North West, said: "It is shocking that such a crucially important process has gone so seriously wrong. Businesses need a stable, reliable rail network and certainty in the provision of key infrastructure. Government tendering processes must be whiter than white, or firms will be deterred from applying to take contracts on, which will harm service delivery.

"This uncertainty leaves the future of a key route for the North West in limbo and will no doubt impact our businesses."

The West Coast route serves 31 million passengers travelling between London, the West Midlands, the north-west of England, North Wales and the central belt of Scotland.